The two round towers that close piazza Castello are, together with the Riace Bronzes, the emblem of Reggio. The hill they stand on was already the corner of the Greek walls; then Belisarius, finding the city undefended, ordered them restored: a castle proper is documented from the year 536, and since then the hill has never stopped being a fortress.
What to see
What you see today is the Aragonese rebuilding, with the two cylindrical towers and the stretch of curtain wall joining them: low, broad towers, built when artillery had already changed the way walls were made. Inside, the recovered spaces host exhibitions and events, and from the top you look over the city and the Strait.
Of the older castle little remains. The part built for Frederick II, square in plan with four square corner towers, stood until after the earthquake of 1908 and then vanished in the demolitions. Since 1956 the complex has also housed a geophysical observatory: in the city the quake flattened, the castle measures the tremors.
Visiting
The castle is in piazza Castello, above the seafront, ten minutes on foot from the museum of the Bronzes; admission and hours depend on the exhibitions running, so it is worth checking before climbing up. Half an hour.
Our editors' tip
Remember that almost everything around you in Reggio was built after the earthquake: streets, buildings, churches. The castle is one of the very few things that were here before, and it is maimed for the same reason. Touching that stone is the only direct contact with the old city that is left.